The Over 65s are in Pool C with Alliance, De Zestigplussers A, England LX Blue and Germany. Pool D includes De Zestigplussers B, England LX Red, Italy and Wales.

Scotland Over 65s Squad in Bra June 2012

Pool Matches (2 x 20 minutes)

Wed 6 June De Zestigplussers 4 Scotland 0

Scotland Over 65s made the worst possible of starts to their first match against Netherlands, masquerading as Zestigplussers, when they lost a soft goal in less than three minutes, and then presented their opponents with a second shortly after. The Scots rallied and had some possession in the centre of the field, but persistently lost patience and gave away possession with a needless hit upfield, easily mopped up by a competent Dutch defence. The half time team talk had some effect and Scotland pressed farther up the pitch, but there was no effective penetration. The biggest danger for the Scots came from their own defenders; the crucial third goal came from a misplaced hit out which was easily stopped by the opposing foward. A goalkeeping error at a short corner saw Zestigplussers take their tally to four. With a strong German team next up, Scotland would have to cut out errors and work on ball pace to stand any chance.

Thur 7 June 14:30 Scotland 0 Germany 4

Scotland Over 65s played out of their skins in the first half, not only countering the German danger men but setting up chances in the German circle, wher the keeper made a fine save from a sharp deflection by Morrice from a cross ball. Unfortunately sweeper Bryce had to go off with a calf strain and the rearranged defence in the second half failed to exercise the same dominance as in the first half, and the Germans profited from the extra space and less committed tackling of the Scotland defence, which was breached four times to leave Scotland in a very difficult position ahead of their second match of the day, against England LX White. Only a win would ensure a place in the playoffs for 1st to 5th places.

Thur 7 June 18:30 England LX White 3 Scotland 0

Scotland Over 65s started brightly against England LX White (England's second team) in a match they had to win to have a chance of making the 1-5 playoffs. Playing good, passing hockey, they controlled the midfield and looked comfortable at the back. However the old fault of not turning possession into goals was again evident, something which was to come back and bite Scotland in the second half. The introduction of three substitutes at half time may have contributed to slackness which resulted in a dubious penalty converted by LX after the ball touched Farnan's foot as he attempted to clear a shot on the line, and it was an uphill struggle from then on. Instead of using the right channels to attack as in the first half, Scotland persisted in switching the ball left from midfield, which simply brought pressure back on the defence when the English regained the ball and worked it down their right, with Scottish defence and midfielders caught upfield. It would be wrong to describe the catalogue of errors which led to the second English goal, and a third followed when a now rampant English side piled players into the circle and overwhelmed the Scottish defence. The result meant that Scotland had no chance of finishing better than sixth.

Fri 8 June 14:00 Alliance 1 Scotland 0

Scotland were condemned to last place in the group with a spineless display against an Alliance side short of class but displaying a determination which was sadly lacking amongst the Scots. In the first half, Scotland had some good moves on the right, forcing three short corners, but nothing came of all their pressure. Scotland's dominance came to nothing when Black saved well from the only Alliance short corner of the match, only for the covering Scottish defender to fumble the clearance. The chance was gratefully accepted. Instead of rousing Scotland to push forward and take back the match, the goal seemed to paralyse some of the players, while their opponents fought like demons for every ball. The result left Scotland in a poor position to claim sixth place, with two matches to come against the teams finishing third and fourth in the other pool.

Cross Over Matches (2 x 25 minutes)

The top three teams in Pool C played off with the top two teams from Pool D for 1st to 5th place and the bottom two teams in each pool played off for places 6-10, with results from the pool matches being carried forward to decide the final positions. Scotland were fifth in their group and finished with matches against De Zestigplussers B at 13:45 on Saturday 9 June and against Italy at 13:15 on the final day of the tournament, counting also the result of the match against Alliance for the purposes of deciding their final position.

Saturday 9 June Zestigplussers B 3 Scotland 0

It is hard to find anything new to say about another poor performance in which inability to make and take chances was the major obstacle in Scotland's way. Individual players tried hard and there was some constructive play but it invariably broke down when the player on the ball made the wrong choice of pass. Only a victory by several clear goals in the final match would be enough to keep Scotland out of last place.

Sunday 10 June Scotland 0 Italy 1

Morrice about to net for Scotland

Scotland were desperately unlucky in a match in which they were well in control but could not find the scoring touch. They were robbed of a goal when the second umpire intervened after Morrice had turned a Bryce hit from a short corner into the Italian net with ten minutes left, and the officiating umpire had signalled a goal. No one, including the opposition, could explain the decision. Scotland's misery was compounded when a loose ball was deflected past Black to give Italy an undeserved victory and leave Scotland with no points and no goals in the tournament.